Form tie anchor



Nov. '19, 1968 J. c. M ARDLE FORM TIE ANCHOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan.20. 1966 INVENTOR NOV. 19, 1968' MC RDLE 3,411,742

FORM TIE ANCHOR 1 Filed Jan. 20, 1966 2 Sheets-Shee 2 INVENTOR. JOHN C.MCARDLE ii I/MVAK ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,411,742 FORM TIEANCHOR John C. McArdle, 3300 S. Holly St., Denver, Colo. 80222 FiledJan. 20, 1966, Ser. No. 521,946 8 Claims. (Cl. 249-205) ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE An anchor for the loop terminal of a form tie protruding froma concrete form wall, including a medial rib formed with spaced sidesand a top joining the sides, to substantially fill the exposed openingof a loop terminal and maintain the sides of the loop spread apart, thetop preferably being transversely curved and convex, to conform to theend of the loop terminal, with a fiat base integral with each oppositeside of the rib and extending laterally and bearing against the formwall. Each flat base may be restricted in length when the rib tapersinwardly, to form a wedging surface, while a flat button extends bothlaterally and longitudinally from the end of the wedging surface. Theflat base at each side may be longitudinally coextensive with the riband have a slot adjacent the rib, to receive the sides of the tie loop.Such an anchor may be formed, as by stamping, from a single piece ofmetal.

This invention relates to the components used in concrete formstructures and forming systems for the reception, retention and shapingof concrete mixes, and more particularly to components for formingsystems which utilize twised wire form ties having end loops arranged toextend through the wall, a primary object of the invention being toprovide a novel and improved anchor for connecting and holding the loopterminal of a tie extended through a form wall to thereby secure the tiein position.

conventionally, the form structures and systems with which the presentinvention is concerned involves the use of sheet panels, usually ofplywood, as the primary members of the form-structure. Panels arearranged in opposition at each side of a form cavity and an array ofties traverse the cavity to hold these panels together. A common tieused for this purpose is formed by looping and twisting a length of wireinto a rigid member of considerable strength and having a closed loop ateach end. The terminal loops of each tie extend through aligned holes inthe opposing panels and are conventionally anchored by extending metalrods through the loops. It is a common practice to align the array ofholes in the panels in columns so that a single rod may be heldvertically and threaded through all of the loops in a column extendingfrom the surface of a given panel. After concrete is poured and set toform the structure, it is necessary to cut the loops for removal of therod and ultimate removal of the panels from the concrete structure.

Though far better than old-time forming operations, this conventionaloperation is nevertheless tedious and time consuming, and there exists aneed for a more simpe and rapid system of preparing and stripping forms.The present invention was conceived and developed with such a need inview and comprises essentially individual anchors for connecting theloop terminals at either end of an installed form tie.

It follows that further objects of the invention are to provide a noveland improved form tie anchor coactible with the end loop of a twistedwire form tie which is easily and rapidly connected with a tie loop;which, once connecied, may be secured against inadvertent displacement;which is readily and rapidly removable for dis- 3,411,742 Patented Nov.19, 1968 assembly and stripping of the forms; which is available forreuse; which permits holes of ample size to be drilled in the form panelfor easy reception of the ties with the anchor adequately overlaying thehole to prevent any significant bleeding of the concrete as it ispoured; and, which is a simple, easily produced, low cost unit availablefor economical production in desired appropriate sizes.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved formtie anchor which does not require a cutting of the tie loop to releasethe anchor and which permits a subsequent and effective removal of thetie loop by simple twisting, rather than cutting actions, and permits,if desired, the subsequent reuse of the tie loop for connection of otherstructures to the concrete wall or anchors for shifting the form panels,as when the con crete structure is being poured in successive steps in aslip form operation. I 1

Another object of the invention is to provide ananchor for form tieswhich is extremely cheap to makeand therefore may be discarded after oneuse, or may be manufactured as a quality product for repeated reuse.

The foregoing and other objects may be accomplished through thepreferred constructions illustrated in the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is an isometric view, in partial section, of a fragment of atypical concrete form assembly, including a form tie having loopterminals engaged by an anchor constructed in accordance with a firstembodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a front elevation, on an enlarged scale, of an anchor of FIG.1.

FIG. 3 is a section, on the same scale as FIG. 2, taken along line 3-3of FIG. 1, Le. longitudinally through the anchor.

FIG. 4 is a section, on the same scale as FIG. 2, taken along line 44 ofFIG. 1 and transverse to FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is an isometric view, similar to FIG. 1, showing a secondembodiment of the invention.

FIG. 6 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 66 of FIG.5, i.e. longitudinally through the anchor per se.

FIG. 7 is a transverse section, taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an isometric view, similar to FIGS. 1 and 5, showing a thirdembodiment of the anchor constructed in accordance with this invention.

FIG. 9 is a section, on an enlarged scale, taken along line 99 of FIG. 8and longitudinally through the anchor.

As typified by FIGS. 1, 5 and 8, it is the usual practice to utilize asconcrete forms, a pair of upright, spaced,

parallel panels or walls 10 and 11, as of plywood, inter tion aredesigned to fit into these loops 13, to thereby co-,

act with the ties to hold the form walls in place against the pressureof freshly poured concrete. For illustrative purposes, there are shown,in several views of the drawings, a tie T which is fabricated to providea central twisted wire tensionmember, with the end loops 13 arranged todetermine a fixed spacing between the faces of the walls 10 and 11, whenthese ends are passed through the holes 12 in the wall panels andproperly secured by anchors. Transversely offset prongs 15 aredisposedwithin the span of the form spacing to provide a temporaryabutment for the faces of the walls and 11 during erection and beforethe walls are separated by spacers or by the pressure of the concretepoured into the form. Application and use of the ties T involvesproviding the holes 12 of a size corresponding to the width of theterminal loops 13 and the holes are drilled in the panels in alignedpairs, oposite each other. As aforestated, the type of anchor mostcommon used previously, i.e. rods extended through a plurality of theloops on each side of the form, the holes 15 were also required to be inalignment, in rows, usually either or both horizontally and vertically.Needless to say, the time consumed in threading a rod through the loopsof several form ties is considerable, while driving a rod out of theloops of several form ties, or cutting the loops individually forremoval of the rod, after the concrete has set, is also unduly timeconsuming.

The anchors A of FIGS. 1-4 are simple, integral units, expedientlyformed by stamping or pressing from sheet metal to provide flat,opposing, flanged bases 16- and 17, of desired extent and preferredoutline, symmetrically flanking a straight channel rib 18 mediallythereacross. In perpendicular projection from the bases 16 and 17, therib 18 is crowned and conformed for reception through and tosubstantially fill the opening embraced by the portion of a loop 13projecting exteriorly of a wall 10 or 11. Thus, rib 18 has spaced,parallel sides and a transversely curved, convex crown or top. Thefitting of the rib 18 into a loop 13- is realized through the provisionof a slot 19 along each side of rib 18 and extending upwardly in eachbase 16 and 17 approximately half the length of the rib 18, in a widthof slidably receive the loop as the lower end of the rib, as shown. Withthe slots 19 closed at about the mid-length of the rib 18 and the ribentered downwardly through the loop and tapped to wedge the sides ofloop 13 against the converging lower side of hole 12, the anchor isreasonably secure against inadvertent displacement from coveringrelation to the hole 12 and thrust coaction of its bases 16 and 17 withthe exterior face of the wall. However, complete security of anchoremplacement may be provided by a simple fastening device, such as a nail20, driven into the panel through a hole 21 near the lower end of rib18, as shown, or a hole 22 in the upper portion of the base 16 or 17.

The tie anchor is further expediently used at the vertical juncture oftwo panels for the anchor may connect with a tie lop 13 disposed at thejuncture and connected to each of the two panels by placing nails inboth of the holes 22 or in the hole 21 and a hole 22, when the tie isrotated 90 degrees from the position shown and placed at the juncture ofthe two panels.

While the slots 19 are arranged for easy insertion of the rib 18 overthe tie loop 13, and it is contemplated that the anchor may be held inplace by a nail, an automatic locking of the anchor on the tie loop ispossible by the use of knobs 19 formed as dents in the walls of the rib18, as illustrated in broken lines at FIG. 2, these knobs being spacedapart sufficiently to require a snapping of the wire loop 13 past them,or springing whenever the anchor is inserted into the loop or removedtherefrom.

As will be evident, after the concrete has set, the nails may be pulledfrom all the anchors on one or more panels and each anchor then merelytapped out of loop 13, as with a hammer. The panel can then be removedfrom the concrete, since the holes 12 will move outwardly over the loops13. Thus, there is no necessity for cutting the tie loops 13 to freerods, each engaging a number of ties. After the panel is removed, theloops 13 may be cut off at the edge of the concrete wall, or the loops13 provided with break-back notches 23, as in FIG. 9, at the outer edgeof the wall, so that each loop 13 may be bent several times in atransverse direction and thereby be broken off. Also, with the presentarrangement, the break-back notches 23 may be eliminated and the tieends broken ofl? by inserting a simple crank in the loop 13 and twistingthe loop in the concrete Wall, this operation also breaking off thesmall concrete stub formed in the hole, as the wall is poured.

An alternative anchor A, shown in FIGS. 5-7, is also an integral unit ofsheet metal, preferably of a heavier type. The anchor A is characterizedby a flat base 25 and 26 at each side, each being desired size andoutline, such as semicircular, symmetrically flanking a straight channelrib 27 disposed medially thereacross and having a size and conformationfor coaction with a loop 13 of a tie T, as shown. Thus, rib 27 hasspaced, parallel sides and a transversely curved, convex crown or top.The extended end of rib 27 is tapered to form a wedging edge 28,provided by the transversely curved, convex top or crown joining thesides which taper in depth. As in FIG. 5, the crown or top formingwedging edge 28 may be slightly flattened, as shown. A laterallyextending button 29 is formed at the end of edge 28. The bases 25 and 26are desirably braced against lateral deflection relative to the rib 27by gussets 30 which are formed by drawing the metal as the bases arefolded out of the planes of the sides of the rib.

The button 29 preferably has a width slightly greater than the insidewidth of loop 13 for enhanced bearing surfaces, but the button can beinserted through the lip, with the attachment A being turned sideways ortwisted sulficiently for each insertion. Once threaded into the loop,the attachment is tapped, as by a hammer, further into the loop, so thatthe loop will ride upon wedging edge 28 until the sides of the loopengage bases 25 and 26, as in FIG. 5. The end of loop 13 will, ofcourse, have been wedged up onto the rib 27, and prong 15 will be pulledagainst the inside of the panel. In order to facilitate locking of thisattachment to the loop, a bump 28 is formed at each side of the rib 27opposite the top of the wedge portion 28, the bumps 28 being ofsuflicient extent as to require the sides of the loop 13 to spring apartand snap together as the attachment is wedged into place on the loop.

In the case of both attachments A and A, the attachment covers most ofhole 12, and any leakage or bleeding of the concrete mix out throughholes 12 will be reduced considerably. Other advantages of theattachments A and A are that each is much smaller and easier totransport 'and store than rods, they do not require any alignment ofloops 13 of the ties, may be placed in the ties, as the ties are placedin the panels, and may be individually removed without cutting the tieloops. Each attachment, of course, can be used many times on successivejobs. A further advantage of the anchors A and A is that the holes 12may be circular, and thus may be drilled in the panels, since theattachments minimize the leakage of the concrete mix. With suchattachments, to minimize leakage, it would be necessary to form holes 12as thin, narrow slots to fit the tie loops 13, which require the use ofrouting rather than drilling equipment and not only increase thedifficulty of forming properly aligned and spaced slots, but alsoincrease considerably the time necessary to produce the slots, addingmaterially to the cost.

Functionally adequate for the installation of concrete form ties, asimple and least expensive anchor embodiment, illustrated in FIGS. 8 and9, is the combination of a clip C and a flat washer W. The clip C isformed from a length of suitable rod or strong wire material, bent toform opposed legs 37 disposed in parallel relation and joined at one endby an eye 36. Free ends 37 of the legs are spread laterally, to limitmovement of the clip through the tie loop 13 and to bear against thewasher W, while the eye 36 serves as a passage for a fastener, such as anail 20, effective in attachment to the panel for retention of theinstalled clip. The clip C may be made sufliciently inexpensively thatit may be discarded after one use, but is readily installed and alsoreadily removed, having the same advantages in installation and removal,over long rods, as the previous embodiments. The washer W may be asimple, fiat, circular washer having a diameter sufficient to overlaythe hole 12 and a circular hole of a size sufficient to receive a loop13, as shown. However, where it is desired to provide for a mostellective closure of the hole 12 in the panels, the washers may beprovided with slotted holes in a manner, now shown, which adequatelyreceives the loops 13 without sufficient space to permit any significantbleeding. Such washers are formed by stamping operations and may beeither conventional types or special slotted types, if the demand isadequate.

This simplified clip C is fully adequate for the purposes set forth,although it is to be noted that it will require a shorter tie T than theconstructions heretofore used for the same wall width.

Since changes, variations and modifications in the form, constructionand arrangement of the elements shown and described may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention, it will be understood thatthe invention is not limited by any details of the illustrations andforegoing description, but only by the proper scope of the appendedclaims.

What is claimed is:

1. An anchor for the loop terminal of a form tie pro truding from aconcrete form wall comprising:

a rigid member having a rib formed with spaced sides and a top joiningsaid sides to substantially fill the exposed opening of the loopterminal and maintain the sides of said loop spread apart; and

a flat base connected with each of the opposite sides of said rib andextending to each side laterally of said rib for bearing against saidform wall.

2. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 1, wherein:

a portion of said rib tapers inwardly and the corresponding portion ofsaid top forms a wedging surface for moving said loop terminal outwardlyas said member is forced therein.

3. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 2, wherein:

a base extends laterally from each side of said rib at positions spacedfrom said tapering portions; and

a fiat base at the end of said tapering portion extends both laterallyto each side and longitudinally from said tapering portion.

4. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 3, wherein:

each side of said rib is provided with a laterally extending bump spacedfrom the corresponding lateral base, whereby the respective side of saidloop terminal, after relative movement past said pump, is receivedbetween said bump and said lateral base to restrain longitudinalmovement of said loop terminal side.

5. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said top of said rib is transversely curved and convex to engage the endof said loop terminal.

6. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 5, wherein:

said base at each side is substantially coextensive longitudinally withsaid rib and provided with a longitudinal slot adjacent the respectiveside of said rib for receiving the respective side of said loopterminal.

7. A form tie anchor as defined in claim 1, wherein:

said rib is integral with each said base in a manner characteristic ofbeing formed from a single piece of metal.

8. An anchor for the loop terminal of a form tie protrusive exteriorlyof a concrete form wall comprising:

a rigid member having means arranged to bear upon contiguous areas ofthe form wall;

a straight, rigid rib offset from and medially of said bearing means ina transverse conformation engageable with and to substantially fill theprotrusively exposed opening of the loop terminal;

said bearing means including a flat base at each side of said rib, witha portion of said rib extending longitudinally past each said base andtapering inwardly to provide a wedge surface for moving said loopterminal outwardly as said member is forced therein; and

a flat button coplanar with said bases at the outward end of said wedgesurface and extending laterally beyond said rib.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,684,136 9/1928 Lynch 249-40 XR1,924,630 8/1933 Toogood. 2,583,962 1/1952 Neptune 249-40 3,167,8422/1965 Pauli 249-46 2,190,748 2/ 1940 Williams 249-46 FOREIGN PATENTS486,082 8/ 1952 Canada.

WILLIAM J. STEPHENSON, Primary Examiner.

